The club has its roots at Wits University in Johannesburg, where it was formed in 1921 by the university's Students Representatives Council. The club competed in a variety of tournaments and leagues before eventually winning promotion to the
National Football League in 1975 – then South Africa's top domestic league. During the 1970s the club produced some of South Africa's finest players – amongst them
goalkeeper Gary Bailey, who went on to play for
Manchester United and
England and defender
Richard Gough, who later played for
Dundee United,
Rangers,
Everton and
Scotland. The club won their first major title in 1978 – winning the
Mainstay Cup after beating
Kaizer Chiefs in the final of the competition. Six years later they picked up the
BP Top 8, and a year later in 1985 they again beat Chiefs, this time in the final of the
JPS Knockout Cup. The club finished 6th in the inaugural
NSL season in 1985 while Scottish striker
Frank McGrellis was crowned the league's top scorer with a total of 29 league and cup goals. The 1990s saw mixed fortunes for the team. They won two trophies, the
BP Top 8 and the
Coca-Cola Cup in 1995 under coach
John Lathan. But a year later they dropped dangerously close to being relegated from the newly formed Premiership – only surviving thanks to a spirited win on the final day of the season against
Jomo Cosmos. Mid-table finishes followed in 1997 and 1998 before the club finished sixth in 1999–00 – helped largely by the inspirational form of centre back
Peter Gordon, who played over 400 times for the club and won caps for
Bafana Bafana (the South African National Team), and
Sam Magalefa who finished as the club's top goalscorer. In 2000–01 the club finished a disappointing 13th under new Scottish coach
Jim Bone. A year later former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper
Roger De Sa was appointed head coach, and he immediately restored order with the club finishing 7th in the PSL in 2002, thanks to a 3–1 victory on the final day of the season over
Orlando Pirates. Under De Sa's reign things appeared to be looking up for Wits, with the club securing third-placed finishes in the PSL in 2003 and again in 2004. But in 2005 things took a turn for the worse, as De Sa's ultra-defensive tactics, coupled with a mass player exodus at the start of the season, saw the side score just 24 goals in 30 league matches to finish bottom of the league. At the start of the 2005–06 season, former
Santos Cape Town and
Maritzburg United coach
Boebie Solomons was appointed as head coach, and Solomons' first season in charge brought a return to the PSL for the Clever Boys, with the club comfortably winning the Mvela Golden League (the second tier of South African football) after starting the season with six successive victories. In June 2007 Roger De Sa rejoined the club after a two-year absence. He replaced caretaker
Eric Tinkler who succeeded Boebie Solomons during the 2006–07 season. In 2010 Wits managed to win the
Nedbank Cup defeating
AmaZulu in the final.
2014–2017 2014–2017 were the most successful years in Wit's history. They finished in the top 3 in the
Premiership for four consecutive years, and the
2016–17 season saw Wits win their first Premiership title. Wits finished the season with 18 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses, and won the league by three points in a tightly contested season. They also won the
2016 MTN 8 (beating 2016 CAF Champions League winners
Mamelodi Sundowns) and the
2017 Telkom Knockout. ==Honours==